Baby Eppes
by Stormyskies89
Summary: Everyone has their own nickname for Andrea. But her Dad, he's the only one that can call her 'Baby'.


**Title:** Baby Eppes

**Summary:** Everyone has their own nickname for me. But my Dad, he's the only one that can call me 'Baby'.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Numb3rs. Never will.

**A/N:** NO FLAMES! Not accepted.

**2****nd**** A/N:** A small insight into Andrea and Don's relationship.

* * *

Charlie pulled up at Sacred Heart High School in Griffin Avenue and watched as girls from 9th to 12th grade poured out after the bell signalled the end of the day. He spotted a few he'd recognized from Andrea's 15th birthday. Andrea walked out slowly, her head down and her bag handing off one shoulder.

"Hey Annie," He said as the 15-year-old climbed into his car (as I understand it, he had his driver's licence), she pushed her bag down to her feet and pulled on her seatbelt.

"Hey, Uncle Charlie. You got a new case?" Andrea had been looking over the numbers with Charlie because Amita was pregnant, and the numbers no longer made her head hurt.

Charlie laughed, "Actually, I do. But your Dad thinks this one is too sensitive for you. So you'll have to watch your DVDs for the hundredth time or whatever." It was Andrea's turn to laugh.

"Too sensitive? Sensitive how?" She asked.

"It's a pretty brutal case. I mean I have case files lying around in the garage. You're father doesn't want you to be exposed to that. If not yet, than hopefully not at all if he has his way. You know what he's like." Charlie as he turned out on to the main street.

"That makes no sense and it's hardly fair. I mean Amita can't look over them. She's gotta rest. Look I want to be an FBI agent or at the very least L.A.P.D. so why can't I?" Andrea said.

"Do you want me to get into trouble?" Charlie asked her.

She laughed again, "Yes." Charlie shook his head.

"Ask your father." He said and Andrea dropped it for the remainder of the drive home.

* * *

"Dad? Dad!" Don looked up at the voice that called to him as he opened the door of his brother's house.

"Hey, Baby, how was school?" Don had only ever asked that question of Charlie (except he left out the 'baby' part), and now – well he was asking his own daughter. The only person allowed to call Andrea 'Baby' was her father. Her grandfather was restricted to 'Annie' or 'Andi' – Andrea if he had to but usually only when she got into trouble. Uncle Charlie called her 'Annie' and he had since she was little so it kind of stuck. Andrea grinned at the nickname and held out her Math test that she'd done today. Don looked down at the large A+ that stared back at him and smiled.

"You're Uncle Charlie's a good influence." He said, Andrea laughed.

"Dad, do you think it's ok if-" Andrea began.

Don cut her off, "No."

"But Dad, I-" She tried again.

"I said no and I know what you're going to ask of me. You can't work this case. For a start the last time you did, your grades slipped. I'm not letting that happen again." Don said, moving past her to sit down by the TV.

"Dad!" Andrea tried again.

"Don't use that tone with me, Andrea. I said no and that's final." Don said sitting down.

"There was a time I wished to hear those words out of your mouth Donnie. But Andi's 15 now. Don't you think it's time she had a bit of excitement?" Alan said standing in the doorway at the bottom of the stairs.

"Dad come on, not you too. First it was Charlie begging me to let her in on the numbers because Amita's pregnant and now you too. No. She can't do it. This is a particularly bad case I can't have her working on it." Don said. Andrea let out an aggravated noise and stormed off to her room.

* * *

Don left at 6am to go to office and Andrea was awake when she'd heard her father start to shower. There was no room in his apartment for both of them so Don had subsequently moved back into the house. At Charlie's insistence.

"Has he gone?" She asked when she spotted her Grandfather in the kitchen, he nodded. Alan was supportive of his granddaughter helping his sons with the cases. Anyway she just looked at the numbers. She never looked at the case files. She accepted the hug her grandfather gave her and then headed out with a slice of toast to the garage. As she stood looking at the numbers she chewed, her Uncle Charlie wasn't up yet so she had about an hour or so to just look at the numbers. She could see how they went together, how they worked or didn't work. She went up to a blank blackboard and wrote out the next part of the problem. Charlie usually fell asleep out here if he was working, but Amita had made him go to bed last night. So Andrea had the garage to herself for a while. When she heard her Uncle's footsteps she put the chalk down and walked back from the blackboards. Charlie saw her and was ready to tell her off but she stopped him.

"Before you start. Look at what I've done for you." She pointed to the boards, she may be 15 but she was three years ahead of her peers with Math and Science. She was well on her way to being the first Mathematician that worked as an FBI agent. But you had to get good scores anyway to be in the FBI. She watched and her Uncle looked over the equation on the board in front of him.

"You finished it?" He said, turning to look at her.

"No, there's still a few steps, I just wanted you to see that I can do the math without taking a look at the case files. I have no idea what the case is, let alone what the photos are like. I just thought I'd help." Andrea said with a smile. Her Uncle knew she could do the math; she'd never looked at the case files before unless she needed more data that's what had worried them.

* * *

"Did you get him?" Andrea asked.

"Yeah we did. And that's thanks to Charlie." Don replied taking a sip from his beer bottle.

"Not completely. I had a little bit of help. Out of all my worrying about her, she came out one morning and just did the math." Charlie said smiling at Andrea.

"Andi? You got on the case! I told you not to!" Don said, Andrea got him right back though.

"What does it matter now? It's over. You caught him. It doesn't matter that I helped does it? I didn't even know what the case was about. Uncle Charlie didn't show me the case files or any of the photos I didn't look at them! I just did the Math!" Andrea snapped.

"Right, and I'm thankful to you Baby, you helped us catch him. I'm just being your father." Don said with a soft smile and kissed Andrea on the cheek. She smiled then and laughed.

"Okay I get. I'm still your baby girl. I've got to be careful." Don nodded, he loved her, he just didn't want her to get hurt.


End file.
